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Sacred Backdrops

Day 243 – Today is the day! It will be a fine juxtaposition of work and play. We embark (after my summer school session) on a marvelous adventure, camping in the mountains for 7 days. Serendipitously, today’s reading is about “explorers and adventurers at heart,” as Rolf describes yogis who use yoga to explorer the landscapes and “aspect of God’s creative genius close at hand.” And, regardless of faith, our trip (as well as any yoga practice, dance, and crossfit) certainly takes on sacredness, which is recognizable through gratitude, wonder, and presence. Nature is a sacred backdrop.

Rolf describes how yoga practice prepares the body first and cultivates a mind with “the ability to stay in a posture, to stay in the moment.” Off the mat, this, in turn, allows us to “stay with a difficult situation, to hold our attention on something in spite of emotional upset.” With this reading, I cannot help but thing of other things that provide opportunities to practice mindful presence: a healthy hike, a nap on the shore of a lake, a stretch on a rock with a scenic view, a simple lunch on a day-trip in the woods, a good conversation by a crackling fire. With nowhere to be and no agenda, the mind (and body) settles into presence. Like Rolf suggests in this reading, I know that I will find that the deepened relationship I have to my body, will also deepen my relationship to my reality.